[i]Who ever even claimed to be a gentleman?[/i] Fitch silently asked himself, resisting the urge to sneer at Luna. If she wanted to bring extra shit, she needed to have a game plan - like, oh what could they possibly do? Maybe use an [b]inventory.[/b] Suto's excitement rolled off his back as easily as the boy himself had. Motivation wasn't this swordsman's strong suit as of late and he to be honest? He'd rather be out slaughtering artificial intelligence. Instead, he decided to humour his friend. With a sigh, he reminded himself that that was an important word here: friend. Swiping his hand through the air, he swapped out his gear for actual swim trunks which appeared to match Suto save for being color-inverted; they were black with white a white streak on either side. The boy looked himself over - his body type hadn't changed in the slightest since he got here... and why would it? For some reason, it still felt like all the "exercise" and "diet" here would affect it. Certainly some of the heavier-set players wished it would, if only cosmetically. He had to at least pretend he was happy, for the sake of the others. The last thing he needed was pity. While Suto was panicking over the possibility of Minerva's arrival and groveling for Luna's forgiveness, Fitch took a moment to sink into his own head. One by one, he isolated every negative feeling he had... Jealousy was first. Jealousy of Suto, for somehow finding the strength to step to the plate first and be a better friend. He stuck it in a bottle and corked it before hiding it as deeply as he could. Then bitterness which stemmed from all the other emotions... Regret... and finally, guilt. It only took a moment and the thoughts were far from gone - he simply decided that he would deal with them when he wasn't around the others. They'd be a bit stronger, but at least nobody would see them or think he couldn't handle this life anymore. The final piece was a small smile - a smile he used to be sporting nearly all the time was now one he would just put on for his friends. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together for a moment as Kenshin and Alphard finally arrived. "Nice of you guys to come!" He shouted brightly, "Are you coming or not?" The message was mostly for Suto and Kenshin, but obviously open to all as he pointed toward the water. "You can catch dinner later, let's swim before the sun [i]actually[/i] sets!" ----- Yari watched the scene with curiosity, as Fitch gradually lost a scowl which had been etched into his face since the day she woke up. Did he have a side that wasn't abrasive or bitter all the time..? For a few moments, he seemed to just be breathing, collecting himself. Hmph, maybe he was just finally deciding to enjoy a day. Then, he actually [i]smiled.[/i] She couldn't help but do the same when she noticed it; Yari was always observational, so seeing things like this intrigued her. She was glad he could let himself have a good day. Rather than let him know that she noticed, she turned her head to see Luna sitting beside her. "Oh, hey, Luna... This? Yeah... Most of my clothes are new, actually... I... er... Just thought it might be good, y'know?" She pointed out, watching her feet as she let the thought trail off. To be honest, she didn't want to say that she was avoiding wearing a dead girl's clothes. That's how all of this seemed to her, anyway. The clothes in the storage didn't belong to her, nor did that ring she was wearing when she woke up. Of course, she saved all of it and made sure not to mix anything with it, but it was a reminder that this body was either stolen or, at the very least, borrowed. "Thank you, though. I like yours too," She said, quickly dropping the subject with a beaming smile. ----- "Step out and stop following me!!" Makoto yelled into the trees. God damn, this place was disgusting. She didn't mean Floor 26 - the floor was awe-inspiring. No, she was talking about the two males in average-level gear who stepped out of the trees. One scowled at the other, "This is your fault! You said your Hide skill was more than high enough to not be detected! She definitely caught you first!!" He was on the thicker side and was wearing camouflage armour - light steel painted in forest tones with decorative leaves and moss designs hanging from it. It was pretty interesting... and more than a little bit creepy, considering what he used it for. The other male was dotted with small, red bumps that didn't hurt but had been there since the game began. Aesthetic acne - it humiliated the hell out of him, but what was he to do? His armour was actually just dark, shadowy leather and a dagger. The monsters here weren't too dangerous, but they had crystals ready too. However, the question was how Minerva was managing to walk fearlessly out here; they were both 'dedicated fans' who knew that she didn't have the level to defend herself solo out here. "Shut up, geeze!" He barked at his friend before looking to the musician, "I'm sorry for his rudeness, ma'am... We were just out here making sure you didn't get hurt while trying to take a walk. So you could enjoy it, we stayed hidden and just made sure that no monsters attacked you, that's all." Minerva stared at them with her arms crossed, a pained look on her face as she snapped her fingers. There was a high-pitched whistle and a throwing pick stuck itself deep into a tree directly beside one of their heads. "Hey! What gives?!" The larger boy shouted. It wouldn't have done much damage, but it meant somebody else was out here and he hadn't detected them. "Oh, way to go, chubs! You can't even keep track of how many people there are out here?!" The acne-dotted male asked accusingly. Were they PK'ers? Had Minerva actually called the attack? Both boys drew their weapons as a small blur of crimson burst through the trees directly between the two boys, holding a rapier poised perfectly toward his heart, no more than an inch away. It was glowing a brilliant red to match her armour, but only for a moment before dying down. This in itself was incredible feat - either she timed a sword skill to stop exactly before hitting him, she actually misjudged the distance, or she was able to stop it in the middle of the attack without having any force but her own will. The truth was the first option, though the latter would have been incredible. He calmed down upon seeing her green indicator, but still started to back up. With every step he took, her response was synchronized with an advance to match his pace. He pressed against a tree as his larger friend laughed. "Oh my god, really? Look at how small she is! You're really scared [i]that[/i] shitless? Sad, man... sad..." The small, cloaked figure turned a pair of green eyes, sharp as daggers on him. "I'm not going to hurt either of you if you just walk away now." She threatened. Minerva was actually trying to stifle a giggle in the background. "Who the hell do you think you are?! There's no real threat there anyway!" "Here's how I look at it... If you attack me now, I can fight back with no threat of a changed indicator." She smirked, as this was common knowledge and neither seemed too surprised by it. "But if you don't leave, I can challenge you both to a two-versus-one duel and humiliate you in front of your idol. If you get me below yellow before I can get both of you down, then you can continue to follow Miss Minerva wherever you so please. You could probably find out where she lives, if you wanted to. But if you lost... well, you'd walk away with less hit points than you probably need to continue pursuing her here, thus forcing you to run away with a crystal... Wouldn't it be easier to walk away?" It would. But men were stupid. And Makoto found the humour in Kimi's logic as the small redhead accepted what would have been an unfair dueling challenge had her level not easily trumped the boys'. The musician wished she could let the others know she was on the way, but this certainly wouldn't take long at all. ----- "Know what's going on? It's not time to eat yet! We're not even starting the fire until it's dark! Do you wanna sit out here in the sun or go swimming first, Alphard?" Yari asked with the same chipper attitude she'd upheld since they unlocked the new floor. She'd not been doing much combat training, so she spent a lot of time with Yuna more than anybody. She had no idea what she should do, to be honest, but Yuna was nice company. Luna was a mystery though - she had no idea what that girl did. It wasn't that Yari didn't like her, she just still had no idea who she was.